Slide suspension



March 31, 1942. H. L. KENNEDY SYLIDE SUSPENSION Filed Dec. 14, 1940INVENTOR- Kennea ly M v ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 31, 1942 SLIDESUSPENSION Howard L. Kennedy. Van Wert, Ohio, assignor to KennedyManufacturing Company, Van Wert, Ohio, a corporation of IndianaApplication December 14, 1940, Serial No. 370,2ll

4 Claims.

This invention relates to slide suspensions for 1 drawers, trays, etc.which are slidably mounted in a supporting structure, such as a cabinet,tool chest, desk, etc. The invention is particularly directed to thedetails of construction of the slide suspension whereby its componentparts may be readily separated and assembled,

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a slide suspensionwhich permits ease of movement of the sliding member with stops toprevent accidental removal and spilling of the contents of the slidedrawer or tray.

Another objectis to provide a slide suspension in which the removal ofthe drawer or tray may be accomplished with greater ease, the releasesfor the above mentioned stops being readily accessible and capable ofmanual actuation.

A further object is toprovide a slide suspension of simple andeconomical construction and one which will support the sliding memberfirmly at any position thereof relative to the supporting structure.Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description accompanied by thedrawing, in which like parts throughout the several views bear identicalreference numerals.

In the drawing: 7

Figure l is a fragmentary view in perspective of a cabinet or the likeemploying a slide suspension embodying the present invention andillustrating the drawer in an outwardly extending position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary View in perspective of the slidesuspension to show the construction and operation of the stops andreleases;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially on the line 33of Fig. 2 and illustrating details of the stop; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view with parts broken away takensubstantially on line 44 of Fig. l.

The slide suspension shown in the drawing and embodying the presentinvention briefly comprises a pair of substantially identical members,one of them an outer member I and the other an inner member 2, which arecooperatively associated with an intermediate member 3. The members land 2 are substantially C-shaped and are disposed in opposedrelationship, the outer member I being secured to a supporting member 4and the inner member 2 being secured to a drawer or tray 5. The inwardlyturned free edges of the C-shaped members I and 2 provide longitudinalchannels along the length of the members in which flanges 6 of themember 3 are slidingly received. The intermediate member 3 as shown inthe drawing comprises .a pair of shallow channel shaped parts with thebottoms of the channels disposed vertically and the parts securedtogether with the channel bottoms back to back. These channelbottomportions which are secured back to back provide a Web portion 1 on theintermediate member 3.

The'inner member 2 is provided intermediate its ends with a stop 8, thestop in the instant embodiment being struck from the normal plane of themember. To engage with the stop and prevent removal of the inner member2 from the intermediate member 3, a releasable detent is carried by theintermediate member. A flat spring 9 is secured at one end to the sideof the web 1 which faces in an opposite direction from the inner member2. The web 1 is also provided with an apertur Ill therethrough. Nearthefree end ofthe spring 9 is disposed a U- shaped portion H which extendsthrough the aperture 10 and provides a projection to act as a detent orlatch in engaging the stop 8. The free end of the spring 9 terminates ina tab portion l2 which is directed away from the web 'I to provide readyaccessibility to the spring. The stop 8, the aperture 10 and the spring9 are so disposed that the detent of the spring engages the stop whenthe drawer and outer memberl are in their outwardly extending positionwith respect to the intermediate member 3. Flexing the spring 9 movesthe detent portion 'of the spring through the aperture and sufiioientflexing removes the detent from engagement with the stop, whereby theinner member may be freed from the intermediate member.

A more positive engagement of the projection of the spring and the stopon the C-shaped member may be provided if the angle between theprojection II and the spring proper 9 is an acute angle, that is, alittle less than 90 degrees, such as about, 70 degrees. With thisarrangement the danger of the spring projection H accidentally slippingpast the stop 8 is obviated. Should the stop be forced against thespring projection it merely puts tension in the spring and. does notpermit the spring to flex. To further assist in pro.- viding a positiveengagement between the spring projection and the stop, the C-shapedmembers may be recessed between their longitudinally channeled edges, asshown in the drawing by the numerals la and 2a. These recessed portionsIa and 2a permit the use of a larger spring projection I I and a largerstop 8. Also, the spring projection has adequate room upon movement ofthe members I and 2 relative to the intermediate member 3 To preventseparation of the intermediate member 3 and the outer member I, a stopand releasable detent mechanism similar to that just described isprovided. A stop I3 is struck from the outer member I and the web of theintermediate member on the side opposite the outer member I carries afiat spring I4 secured thereto at one end. The spring is provided with aU-shaped detent portion I5, which is adapted to extend through anaperture I6 in the intermediate member and the spring I 4 terminates ina tab portion I! which is directed away from the web I of theintermediate member.

Two of the slide suspensions are used for each drawer, one beingdisposed on each side of the drawer, each of the suspensions beingdisposed at the same distance from the bottom of the drawer. The innerand outer members of each suspension slide upon the flanges 6 of theintermediate member. Movement of the drawer in an outward direction islimited by the engagement of the detent portion I engaging the stop I3of the outer member secured to the supporting frame and the engagementof the detent portion II of the spring 9 with the stop 8 of the innermember, secured to the drawer. When it is desired to remove the drawer,it is a relatively simple matter to bring the drawer to its outwardlyextended position, insert a thumb or finernail between the tab portionI2 of the spring 9 and the intermediate member, and flex the spring awayfrom the intermediate member so that the U-shaped portion I I is drawnaway from the stop 8 and the drawer 5 may be readily removed.

If it is further desired to remove the intermediate member from theouter member secured to the supported frame, it is only necessary toreach into the space from which the drawer has been removed and flex thespring I4 by its tab II so that the U-shaped portion I5 thereof cannotengage with the stop I3 and then the intermediate member may be readilyremoved from the outer member.

The outer and inner members I and 2, respectively, of the slidesuspension may be secured to 4 the supporting member 4 and the drawer ortray 5, respectively, in any suitable manner, such as bp welding orriveting where the members are made of sheet metal or by suitable screwswhere the supporting member and drawer are made of wood. Since the slidesuspension of the present invention may be readily disassembled, itsinstallation is relatively easy. The inner member is secured to thedrawer or tray at spaced locations, indicated in the drawing by thenumeral I 8. Similarly, the outer member may be secured to thesupporting structure and the suspension may be assembled by sliding theflanges 6 of the intermediate member into the longitudinally channeledportions of the outer and inner members.

It may be noted that in accord with the presentinvention a rigid supportof the drawer member is provided throughout the movement of the drawermember, even when it is at the limit of its outward movement. Thesuspension of the present invention also provides positive limits to theoutward movement of the sliding member.

Although the movement of the sliding member is positively limited, thedrawer or tray may be released very readily since the releases are soreadily accessible. When the drawer is in its outwardly extendingposition the intermediate member has been withdrawn from the outermember which is secured to the supporting structure so that the releaseis exposed. The tab portions on the release permit an advantageous gripby which to flex the spring. At the same time the component parts of thesuspension are relatively compact, so that they do not interfere withthe movement of the drawer or slide. Further, an economical structure isprovided by embodying the release in a single member which maybe readilysecured to the intermediate member.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specificdevice herein shown and described for purposes of illustration may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is;

1. A slide suspension for suspending a sliding member in a supportingstructure which comprises an outer guide member on the supportingstructure having a longitudinally channeled portion, an inner guidemember on the sliding member having a longitudinally channeled portion,an intermediate member having portions received for sliding movement inthe channeled portions of said inner and outer members, a stop on saidinner member adjacent the intermediate member, an aperture in theintermediate member disposed adjacent the stop when the sliding memberis in its outward extended position, and a detent carried by theintermediate member for engagement with said stop, said detent includinga flat spring secured to the intermediate member on the outer sidethereof and .at a point spaced rearwardly from the aperture, a U-shapedportion of said spring projecting through the aperture to engage thestop, and an outwardly disposed free end portion of the spring toprovide accessibility to the spring for manual disengagement of thedetent from the stop to release the sliding member and inner member forremoval.

2. A sliding suspension for suspending a sliding member in a supportingstructure at all points along its sliding movement, which comprises anouter guide member on the supporting structure having a longitudinallychanneled portion, an inner guide member on the sliding member having alongitudinally channeled portion, an intermediate member having portionsreceived for sliding movement in the channel portions of said inner andouter members, a stop on said inner member adjacent the intermediatemember, an aperture in the intermediate member which is disposedadjacent the stop when the inner member is at the limit of its outwardmovement with respect to the intermediate member, and a releasable catchfor engagement with the stop, said catch including a flat spring securedto the intermediate member on the outer side thereof and at a pointspaced rearwardly from the aperture, a projection carried by said springto extend through the aperture and engage the stop, and a tab by whichthe spring may be readily flexed to disengage the catch from the stop torelease the sliding member and inner member from the intermediate memberfor removal of the sliding member.

3. A slide suspension for suspending a sliding member in a supportingstructure which comprises an outer member afiixed to the structure andhaving a longitudinally channeled portion, an inner member'afiixed tothe sliding member ate member on the outer side opposite the innermember, a U-shaped portion of said spring projecting through theaperture to engage the stop, and an outwardly disposed free end portionof the spring to provide accessibility to the spring for manualdisengagement of the detent from the stop to release the sliding memberand inner member for removal, a stop on said outer member adjacent theintermediate member, an aperture in the intermediate member adjacent thestop when the sliding member is in its outwardly extended position, anda detent carried by the intermediate member for engagement with thestop, said detent including a flat spring secured at one end to theintermediate member on the inner side thereof, a U-shaped portion ofsaid spring projecting through the aperture to engage the stop, and aninwardly disposed free end portion of the spring to provide readydisengagement to the detent from the stop to remove the intermediatemember from the supporting structure after the sliding member has beenremoved.

4. A drawer suspension for suspending a drawer in a supporting structurewhich comprises an outer member affixed to the structure and having alongitudinally channeled portion, the drawer having a similarlongitudinally channeled portion, an intermediate member having portionsreceived for sliding movement in the channeled portions of said outermember and said drawer, a stop on said drawer adjacent the intermediatemember, an aperture in the intermediate member disposd adjacent the stopwhen the drawer is in its outward extended position, and a detentcarried by the intermediate member for engagement with said stop, saiddetent including a fiat spring secured to the intermediate member on theouter side opposite the drawer and at a point spaced rearwardly from theaperture, a U-shaped portion of said spring projecting through theaperture to engage the stop, and an outwardly disposed free end portionof the spring to provide accessibility to the spring for manualdisengagement of the detent from the stop to release the drawer forremoval.

HOWARD L. KENNEDY.

